"Look I'm a part of that, downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack." spits Black Thought, merely a couple of lines into Game Theory.
Last night i had the rare pleasure of seeing one of the best bands working the global circuit today; The Roots. For two hours they tore down Bristol Academy with beats and hooks tighter than their Def Jam marketing budget. Not one member of the band let the side down and in something of a rarity for bands in the UK, they looked like they were loving every minute of being up on stage, no stone-faced indie fops here, not on this night.
Where does that attitude come from? It just struck me that there are a few too many acts out there that see being on stage as their god-given right. Kanye West, although his show in London that i saw a couple of years back was excellent, he gave you just that, a show. Perhaps this should be expected form a guy who's new direction involves releasing an album of him singing, in spite of the fact that he obviously can't sing. Still the arrogance of the man is astounding. The Roots by comparison have a sense of humility which is refreshing.
The genesis of that humility may well be routed in their home city. It's easy to forget, partly because The Roots have been on the scene for more than a hot minute, that Mr Thought's lyrics relate to the here and now. After all his commentary has been articulating similar sentiments for the last 15 years.
Watching Louis Theorux Law and Disorder in Philadelphia the other night I was reminded that in those 15 years little has improved in a city which has doesn't exactly seem to be rolling in the American dream. The programme painted a picture of neighbourhood of people with little hope, receiving little government help so caught up in survival that progress was way down the list of priorities. The reality (as Black Thought puts it) of the place is startling. To come from that, as i understand the Roots front man did, to playing shows across the globe is enough to make anyone look back with humbling thoughts. It could have all been so different.
For those acts that didn't however they could do a lot worse than taking a long hard look at themselves and asking; how lucky am i to be doing what I'm doing and making a living from it? The alternative for many is a lot worse.
Image by Nirazilla
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